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Lydia Wilson & James D’Arcy The Making of a Lady

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Hits: 1936

Lydia Wilson stars as Emily Fox-Seton, who is working as a companion to formidable Lady Maria Byrne (Joanna Lumley) in ITV1's Victorian period drama based on Frances Hodgson Burnett's novels The Making Of A Marchioness and The Methods Of Lady Walderhurst. Before long Lydia has lost her job after doing a favour for Lady Byrne's nephew, but then receives an unexpected marriage proposal from him. Later, when he rejoins his regiment in India, his scheming nephew Captain Alec Osborn (James D'Arcy) and his wife appear, leading to problems for Emily...

Tell us a bit about your character…

Lydia Wilson: Emily’s a survivor who gets by by being very practical. She’s thoughtful and resourceful and she always sees the good in people.James D’Arcy: Alec left the army under a bit of a cloud. He married an Indian woman, Hester, and brought her back to England. I think he's someone who’s never quite fitted in — he was never destined to be Lord of the Manor, he never expected to inherit the country estate. I think there is some degree of damage in his childhood.

What would you say is their biggest flaw or weakness?

Lydia Wilson: Emily’s desire to be accepted means she isn’t always as wary as she should be.James D’Arcy: His weakness is clearly his greed. He always wants more. More love, more respect, more 'stuff'. He wants to be 'the man'.

Both your characters come from well-to-do backgrounds — how is it they have no money?

Lydia Wilson: Emily’s parents are dead. Her mother was disowned by her wealthy family because she ‘married beneath herself’ for love.James D’Arcy: Alec was disinherited when he married Hester.

When does Emily begin to suspect that something sinister might be afoot?

Lydia Wilson: When her husband, Lord Walderhurst, goes back to India, Alec and Hester turn up at the house. Initially they all have a great time. Emily finally feels like she’s part of a family and she sort of returns to her childhood. One day they’re playing hide and seek and she finds Alec in the gun room. There’s something about the way he acts that unsettles her and she feels threatened. She realises that there’s more to him than she first thought, there’s a darkness to him… but then he gets sick and she puts it down to that.

What role does Alec’s wife Hester play?

James D’Arcy: She’s not completely oblivious to Alec’s scheming, but then he takes it in a direction they hadn’t discussed. By the time she realises, it’s too late because by then they've both committed offences for which they could hang.

Lydia, can you tell us a bit about the costumes you wore?

Lydia Wilson: I wore 42 different dresses and had to have a corset custom-made — one of those really tight, boned ones that lace up the back. It made me feel light-headed but, weirdly, I got used to it. It was quite a luxury to be inserted into that world… like being a nine-year-old girl again, playing dressing-up.

What was the atmosphere like on set?

Lydia Wilson: It was such a small cast that it was like a little theatre company. Everyone was just incredible and really looked after each other.James D’Arcy: We were a small group so it felt quite intimate. We had 175 scenes to shoot in four weeks, so there was definitely a bit of a Dunkirk spirit.

Did Joanna Lumley give you any acting tips?

Lydia Wilson: We were shooting very quickly, so all her scenes were compressed into a few days and it was kind of like having a whirlwind meeting with royalty! She was really graceful with everybody that she worked with, and she managed to be light and humorous but still really rigorous and intelligent. I learned so much from just watching her. It was a shame we didn’t have that much time to hang out.

You’ve both got feature films coming out next year — can you tell us a bit about them?

Lydia Wilson: I’m in About Time, which is Richard Curtis’ (Four Weddings And A Funeral) latest rom-com. I play a character called Kit Kat. She’s a real free spirit, playful and eccentric, really adorable. I got to work with Bill Nighy and learnt a lot from him too.James D’Arcy: I’m in Cloud Atlas. I play a few different characters — a guy called Rufus Sixsmith, who is Ben Whishaw's lover in 1936, and the same character again in 1973 who, by then, is a nuclear physicist. And I play a medical orderly in an old people's home, and a futuristic bald Asian interrogator. It’s a very ambitious film. Totally bananas.I also play Anthony Perkins in Hitchcock. That was great fun. I’m completely in love with Anthony Hopkins (who plays Alfred Hitchcock). He's the most spectacular actor but he's also a genuinely kind and decent human being. He’d be waiting around while they were doing the lighting and he'd just sit and chat to the extras and give them advice.

What are your future plans or ambitions work-wise?

Lydia Wilson: I just take it as it comes. I’m learning that it’s better to be happy with the work you have done as opposed to having a plan of what you want to do. That’s where the real joy comes from.James D’Arcy: I’ve written a few feature films, which was good fun, but who knows what will happen with them? I’m also hoping to produce a film, a gritty drama, that someone else has written.